Gold Line "Brain Train" Extension Breaks Ground at Citrus College

By Dr. Edward C. Ortell, Citrus College Governing Board Member

Citrus College was the site of a historic milestone in regional transportation when the Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority recently broke ground on its $1.5 billion light-rail extension of the Metro Gold Line.

Known as the "Brain Train" because of its proximity to nearly 24 institutions of higher education from Los Angeles to Montclair, completion of the Foothill Gold Line will ultimately connect the Inland Empire to the San Gabriel Valley, the West Side and Long Beach.

During the groundbreaking, regional leaders, such as Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, Duarte Mayor John Fasana and Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis, focused their remarks on the quality-of-life and economic benefits of completing the Gold Line. Construction alone is expected to generate $2.6 billion in economic output, 17,000 jobs and nearly $40 million in tax revenues.

Higher education leaders in our region, however, are focused on the dramatically expanded opportunities of low-income and first generation college students to access the many colleges and universities located along the Gold Line, which will be made possible by convenient, cost-effective light rail transportation.

As a member of the Citrus Community College District Board of Trustees, I am tremendously proud of the college's advocacy efforts on behalf of the Gold Line – an effort that spans more than a decade. Citrus College trustees, Superintendent/President Geraldine M. Perri, Ph.D., and students and staff lobbied legislators in Washington, D.C., and Sacramento and hosted Gold Line events on our campus. We also spoke at numerous Metro board meetings in downtown Los Angeles, wrote guest columns and participated in many other advocacy efforts. I commend my colleagues on the board for their visionary leadership that will benefit students and the residents of our communities for countless generations to come.

In March 2008, Supervisor Hilda Solis, then a member of Congress, held an event at the sites of future stations along the route of the Foothill Extension. The event, which she called "Walk the Line," began at the site of what today is the APU/Citrus College Station, located across the street from Citrus College. On that day in 2008, there was nothing but empty track, vacant property and a vision for the future in the minds of the elected officials and community leaders assembled.

In a testament to what can be accomplished when diverse communities and stakeholders work together on a common goal, many of those same individuals gathered at Citrus College to celebrate groundbreaking on the final phase of construction of the Foothill Gold Line.